Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins reacts to recent Patriots trade rumors originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
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Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins' name has been the subject of trade rumors for months.
It makes sense, too. The Cardinals are coming off a horrible 2022 season that included franchise quarterback Kyler Murray tearing his ACL in Week 14 -- an injury that will sideline him at the start of the 2023 campaign. They also fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury in January and hired a new general manager. The team is in a bit of a rebuild/retool, and with Hopkins turning 31 years old next month, he probably wants to win at some point soon. He has played in six playoff games in 10 seasons as an NFL player.
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Hopkins recently joined Brandon Marshall's "I AM ATHLETE" podcast and discussed the trade rumors surrounding him and which teams might have called about his availability.
"Obviously, of course I’ve heard a lot of rumors of people calling,” Hopkins said. "I would definitely say the Patriots were one of the teams. Obviously, I would say the Bills were one of those teams that I heard. I didn’t have direct conversations, but seeing what’s on Twitter, what’s on Instagram, you’ve got to pay attention to some of those things. Really, those are the only two teams that I paid attention to that I was like, 'All right, let me see if social media’s right.'"
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What does Hopkins want in a team, whether it's Arizona or another franchise?
"What I want is stable management upstairs,” Hopkins said. "I think that's something that I haven’t really had the past couple years of my career, coming from Houston and then being in Arizona. I’ve been through three or four GMs in my career, so stable management. A QB who loves the game, a QB who brings everybody on board with him and pushes not just himself but people around him. I don’t need a great QB. I’ve done it with subpar QBs. Just a QB who loves the game like I do. And a great defense. I think defense wins championships, so for me, I think that’s the key. You’ve got to have a great defense. You’ve got to have a great D-line. ..."
The Patriots reportedly showed interest in Hopkins in March. But there haven't been many new rumors or reports about their interest in Hopkins over the last four to six weeks.
Instead of making a huge splash to acquire a legit No. 1 wide receiver in the offseason, the Patriots have, at least so far, mostly added good depth to their passing attack with the free agent signings of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end Mike Gesicki. They also selected LSU wide receiver Kayshon Boutte in the 2023 NFL Draft.
It seems like the Patriots are hoping these roster additions, as well as the arrival of offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, will be enough to improve the team's passing attack next season.
